I woke this morning to a wonderful sight! From my lanai I could see that all the major north shore wave brakes were working with what looks like all channels open! The wind forecast is east at 18 to 24 knots!

an' what a nice site that is ~sigh~

can't believe it's been almost a yr since my last visit --breathing deeply into that ocean mist --ahhhh..

happy huladayz olaf (!)

good they finally found your friend in BlkVelvet, so sorry -no note eh..?

Aloha to trundlebum, Mark, Jasonn, FatPaul, and Kirra for posting your stoke! trundlebum itís always good when you drop in on our thread. And yes Waimea seems dwarfed by some of the newly discovered waves around the globe but itís where it all began. I'll never surf it! What a drop! Mark, you should buy the ticket! Jasonn, I'm digging your stoke Dude! Great to hear from you Kirra. My friend John Rosholtís case is cold and we will never know the truth. They write books, screenplays and songs about such mysteriesí. Maui is waiting for your return with her arms open! Fat Paul, I'm glad you get the message that JP was expressing in his little video. I wave sailed with him yesterday afternoon and we had a blast. The N/E swell was still working although substantially smaller and the wind was more erratic than the day before but we rode wave after wave. The fetch of this swell is hitting our reef and the waves are pealing like a point brake. Itís wonderful to ride a wave that gradually dissipates and allows you to ride to the end and delivers no penalty on your way back out. I did get worked pretty good on the inside at one point. We have been blessed with lots of waves to ride for so long now that we are all wearing down but there is no way to stop when the conditions are this good. I launched fairly early yesterday and there were only a few people out at our break. I got a bunch of waves and was getting tired and sorta cold. I was thinking about cutting my sesh short when all the regulars showed up and my energy stoked up a notch. The wind started to dissipate to almost nil. It was still enough to move me around. I was working my way up wind and trying to put myself in position to make it back to the launch. I was hoping to be far enough up wind to drop in on a wave and get a couple of hits on it and then make a dash for the channel (through the no wind zone) using the power of the white water to push me through the mixed up water between the impact zone and the rocks at the mouth of the channel. That was my plan but each wave I dropped in on was so perfect that I had to ride it till the end and that put me out of position to get in. So I would slog back outside pinching to weather until I positioned myself for another try at getting in. The same thing happened again and again. Finally I told myself enough is enough and I took the white water in. This was a very delicate maneuver in that I had hardly any wind in my sail. The power generated by the wave was greater than the power of the wind in my sail. It was like I was being back winded until the wave diminished. This turned out to be a lotlike doing the hula in a washing machine while standing on a board that barely floats me,while I made the transition back to using what little power the wind was producing to move me toward shore. In this situation I often fall over backwards and then swim against the ripping current that is moving like a river through the sharp rocks close to the beach. At that point every inch gain is important at least until I pass the through the major part of the current. Every one that sails this place has to deal with this and accepts this as part of the game. We had a sailor die from the exhaustion of fighting the current his way back to shore a couple of years back. My friend Jake started CPR while Pascal called 911 but it was too late by the time professional help arrived. The guy just wasnít in shape and had limited no prior knowledge of how the hydraulics work there. That is the reason that we really donít get the crowds at our little spot on the north shore. There are many easier places to sail around here. There was beer waiting on the beach (Thanks Tad) when I got there and we all shared some great stories.

Every day of this swell has proven to be awesome in its own unique way. Yesterdays sesh provided tons of waves and several of them were my longest (continuous) down the line rides of this season. The real long one s I picked up in front of MFH and rode them deep into T Bay nearly to the blue tile roof house. I was going to toss out a distance but I think that Iíll keep my mouth shut till I measure it with my odometer. That should get me in the ballpark If my wind, wave, and weather sources are correct we have one more day of wind along with this delightful N/E swell. I hate to boast of how it is going to be because I am always wrong but I am hoping for a great day wave sailing. After today it looks as though we are going to be paddling into our waves for the next while. The wind is forecast to shut off and the new swells are going to be coming from the N/NW. That is classic winter north shore Maui surf conditions. I AM SOO STOKED!!

This image shows how the waves were pealing off the point at Hookipa. By the time they got to us they were soo clean!

This is Dale Cook he's in the narrow chanel. If you notice the light colored sand in the water, On ether side of that narrow line are sharp rocks covered with sea urchins! If you will notice the swift current moving between white water (that's directly above Dale) and the large rock to the right side of the image. A few yards behind him the channel gets deep so ya really have to swim hard with your gear.

North shores - We'll find a substantially larger north swell arriving later Tuesday into Wednesday, lasting for several daysÖperhaps even into the early weekend. This stuff should have clean conditions, as the trade winds are gone nowÖgrading into southeast to south, and eventually southwest, meaning offshore wind spray. High surf advisories are likely.

Yeaaa! Glad some surf in comming in, great photo! I am headed to Cali at the end of this month, so Ill have plenty to post during that time. Blacks beach and all the amazing spot in San Clemente are gonna be great.

Jasonn, We're looking forward to your So Cal T.Rs.! I took the wind surf gear out of my truck and loaded up a couple of my favorite long boards! I sure hope this swell lives up to the event the bouys and computer models indicate! If so it's game on for the north shore!

Thanks Jasonn, No that is not me in the image.I took the photo from the bluff at MFH a while back. I surf and wave sail this break a lot. The wave in the image is about average size unless of coarse we have a significant swell running like we have now. Right now that brake is out of control. That whole corridor was pretty much closed out last I looked. My day yesterday was a bit frustrating in that I the swell arrived sooner and bigger than the forecast model s predicted. I started out looking at Nori's, It was big and holding up well but there was one problem. There was absolutely no one out. Noriís can be a bit lonely even when itís smallish. But with vigorous rising swell it just plane crazy to paddle out alone. You can get caught by a sneaker set and be in big trouble. I moved on to Kanaha where the conditions look smaller but messy as I checked the brake with my binoculars. I talked to two of my friends that were just getting in and they said they had fun but werenít raving about their sesh. I watched a while more and decided that I was just being a fraidy cat so I drove back to Kuau. I called my friend Trevor who lives on the beach right in front of Nori,s for a report and to see if he wanted to paddle out from his house. He told me that they were starting to tow in at Noriís and that no one was paddling at all. I was almost there any way so kept going. When I got to the launch I found that there were three SUP guys out and they were getting waves but really not doing all that well. It was easily double over head and I really couldnít see where to line up. These guys were good surfers and were choosing spots in different areas. With a new developing swell and no one out to triangulate a position you might as well be surfing with a blindfold on. So once again I drove back to Kanaha and paddled out there. When I got out to the lineup I found that most of the usual suspects were out and it was like being at a party. I got quite a few waves and several real good waves and one wave was about as good as any that I can remember. It was a forever left hander that held up for longer than you would believe if I told you. Letís just say it had several cutbacks. I was going back right for as long as many whole waves and then cutting back left for a long time and then cutback right then left with a glassy steep section at the end. I got a few more waves one of which closed out after a while but another on peaked up in exactly the same place the first one ended. I was sitting right in the sweetspot so I snagged it. That put me in a great place to start the long journey in. It was starting to get dark and I was chilled anyway. BTW Kanaha breaks about ľ mile off shore so it's a respectable paddle out there. We often do two seshs in a day. I just got a call from my buddy Trevor and I gotta go pick him up and head over to Kanaha as I write. BTW: hereís what Pat Caldwell says about this wave event that we are just getting started with.

HIGH SURF ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR NORTH AND EAST FACING SHORES

Surf along north facing shores will build to heights of 18 to 22 feet Wednesday.

Surf along east facing shores will increase to heights of 6 to 8 feet Wednesday.

Surf along south facing shores will remain 1 to 3 feet through Wednesday.

Surf along west facing shores will rise to heights of 4 to 8 feet Wednesday.

Outlook through Monday Dec 13: surf will remain above advisory levels for north and east facing shores through Thursday afternoon then gradually subside through the rest of the outlook period.

I posted the painting image because it just about, sorta, kinda, expresses what my two sessions felt like that day. It was actually real fun. The waves were substantial and somewhere about head and a half to double over head plus. Only a few of the many waves that I dropped in on held up. The ones that did were monumental. The right handers that I got that day were spectacular. They were big, steep, fast and so long that the paddle back to the lineup seemed to take forever. At the end of those rights there wasnít anything that even resembled a channel or weakness to punch back out. If I tried to go directly back out it would be unrelenting duck diving and turtle rolling and using all my energy to get nowhere. So I would just ride the wave to the end and the take a long leisurely paddle on the inside all the way around to the left channel which was completely open. The current in left channel was ripping. It was like getting an escalator ride back to the line up at the peak. After a few of the long rights I started going left. This would deposit me directly into the channel and give me effortless access back to the peak. Trevor had to work that night so we shared a wave that took us most of the ľ mile back to the beach at about noon. I dropped him off at his little beach house in Kuau and then cruised home for lunch and a bit of relaxation. After about a two hour break drove back to Kanaha and paddled the ľ mile back out to the lineup. The evening crowd hadnít assembled yet so I snagged some great lefts and one of them was just amazing. It was the third wave of a set of three. The first two waves of this ďmackerĒ set had me paddling up dead vertical faces and each time barely making it over the top without being sucked back over the falls. I was a bit further out than the rest of pack so every one behind me was wiped out buy those two set waves. The third wave was just as big and I was in good position to take off on it. I paddled real hard and as soon as I felt the wave take me I popped up and grabbed the rail and pulled in and stayed low. This immediately accelerated my Walden ďMagic ModelĒ enough to clear the close out section. The rest of this long left was pure bliss! I bottom turned and climbed back to the lip. I dropped in again and bottom turned. I climbed back up to the top and moved forwards and took a low, aggressive stance near the nose to get some speed up,till, I started out running the wave. Then stepped back on the tail and cut back right until I hit the edge of the bubbles. I carved off the lip and transitioned back left in a long smooth bottom turn! I then moved into a low stance close to the nose and pumped every last bit of juice out of that wave before I kicked out breathless and hooting with my arms raised! That was my wave of the day. When I got back out to the lineup I received a thumbs up and a couple of head nods. It feels good to every now and again receive acknowledgment from people that I respect. I took off on many more waves but I just couldnít clear that initial close out section,as hard as I tried. I would be in a good position drop in and grab the rail but only to get closed out after a giant exciting drop and stay in front of the white water all the way to the channel. The paddle back out was easy and I was totally entertained. It is really cool when you know most of the people in the pack and they are people that you have surfed with over the years. There is one element that is getting out of hand and itís going to get worse before it gets better. There are many guys around that never really surfed well for one reason or another. That is until Stand Up Paddle (SUP) boards came along. Now every body can catch waves with these large high volume surfboards. It seems like as soon as a guy gets one of those things and gets used to the balance, he becomes a wave hog with no regard for anyone else in the lineup. Iím finding many of them canít really turn the things so there are numerous accidents in the water and a general disregard for the rest of the people out trying to get some waves. That isnít always the case because I do know some great long board surfers that have started riding stand up boards and itís no different than if he were riding his surf board. That same day my friend Chris was hit by a guy that couldnít control his SUP. This nearly turned into a battle in the water. I stayed out of it and snickered a bit as Chris told the guy to go away and the guy said, ďMake MeĒ! Chris started paddling after the fellow and the guy started paddling away as fast as he could. Chris caught up with him and they had a privet conversation. Chris paddled back and continued surfing the guy surfed further down the line in a less crowded section. I had this guy drop in on me yesterday and it was obvious that he really didnít have much experience. I was so close that he could hear me telling him to hold his line and PLEASE donít fall! Those things are large and will do a lot of damage. Thatís enough ranting; SUPs are here to stay so I just have to face it. Itís like skiers and snow boards, kiters and windsurfers, trad and sport climbing for that matter. There really wouldnít be a problem if everyone observed the rules of surfing priority and showed some respect out there in the lineup.

I believe that THE LANDLORD is around way more than we care to think! It can be real spooky surfing alone in the evening. This sort of press really helps thin out the crowd. Most of us have had some experience or another. The last shark I saw was right where we surf and wave sail. He was about 5' and minding his own business. I was on my sailboard and I didn't feel threatened in the least. If I was sitting on my surfboard with my legs dangling or if he was any bigger ? That's another thing entirely!

Been a while since I've visited this site. Got a new wee one that keeps me on the ropes...actually is stirring right now. I spent the half hour reading this thread. Good stoke and Boy it makes me miss "the life" when I was on Maui..

We had a great September for our standards. Not alot of water time for me but enough to keep me somewhat happy.

Keep it coming.... oh the last pic, that longboarder drops straight down on top of the dude paddling out and I don't know how he didn't kill him. I didn't get to paddle out this day but the crowd was so out of control I was kinda glad I had an excuse... Some people don't know any better, some people just don't care!

My last two days on the ocean have been brilliant! Day before yesterday I wave sailed logo high waves with barely enough wind to water start but just enough breeze to slog into the lineup. I caught a bunch of waves and made it back to the launch without swimming. Yesterday, I surfed on glassy head high waves all afternoon with three other guys. The water was so clear that I could see the reef below me. The waves were very clean and easy to drop in on. We all got plenty of waves right up till sunset!

Hay mobley,Thanks for posting this exciting little film clip! Each of those craft takes a lot of skill and massive balls to perform at the level of those competitors! It's interesting that an old friend of mine Kent Marinkovic was in on the production of the race and documentary. Kent and I go back many years. The last time I saw him we were down in southern Baja at Los Barriles together with a bunch of other friends. He was just getting into kiting at the time. Kent was on the US Olympic wind surf team and is hands down the best freestyle longboard windsurfer that I have ever known or even seen. I remember watching Kent and Andy Brant of ABK windsurfing put on a freestyle demonstration. They each were both awesome but Kent ruled that day. Damn it's a small world. Kite racing is getting very popular here on Maui. I have many friends that are designing and building race boards. Alix Aguera for one and my friends Wess and Peter as well. My girl friend Karen raced in the last Nash race series.

Hay mobley,Thanks for posting this exciting little film clip! Each of those craft takes a lot of skill and massive balls to perform at the level of those competitors! It's interesting that an old friend of mine Kent Marinkovic was in on the production of the race and documentary. Kent and I go back many years. The last time I saw him we were down in southern Baja at Los Barriles together with a bunch of other friends. He was just getting into kiting at the time. Kent was on the US Olympic wind surf team and is hands down the best freestyle longboard windsurfer that I have ever known or even seen. I remember watching Kent and Andy Brant of ABK windsurfing put on a freestyle demonstration. They each were both awesome but Kent ruled that day. Damn it's a small world. Kite racing is getting very popular here on Maui. I have many friends that are designing and building race boards. Alix Aguera for one and my friends Wess and Peter as well. My girl friend Karen raced in the last Nash race series.

I dont know about the massive balls thing, especially coming from a climbing background but this is an impressive vid of three of the fastest and most simple sailing rigs in the world. Its funny that it takes millions of dollars to make a boat that can go as fast as a kiteboarder you have to admit. I'm more of a sail until I cant drink anymore and race/try to race someone along the way kind of sailor myself. I'm looking for someone to strap in to my mast while holding a trainer kite(at first) on my Laser next summer in the LI sound if anyone is interested. We could set some local records, that 49er at Yale really pisses me off sometimes...

Hey guys, here is an update from the North East. I did not get the best photographs, so ill just have to use my words. Enjoy

The snow that fell last night covered Long Island in its entirety. I knew that there was also a swell forecasted to be about head high coming in. This morning I noticed that the winds changed. Now they were going NW, making for some great waves, with cleaner conditions than anticipated. As soon as I got out of work, I put on my suit, booties, grabbed my gloves and board, and headed to Gilgo. The air temperature was a screaming 24 degrees, leaving the water as a place to warm up, still being 50 degrees.

My buddy mike joined me, talk about an empty line up. We had the place to ourselves. Starting off with a short run to the best break, we were able to get some warmth going. The first few duck dives were the most painful. You had just enough time to make that Ice cream headache go away after coming up from you last dive. Than another wave would roll in and leave you with yet another head pounding duck dive.

I was amazed that we both found the time to surf before class during finals week. Long semi clean waves were breaking consistently, decent tubes! I think Mike caught the first wave. Than, I caught an amazing left, lots of power out there. The wind kept pushing Mike and I out, so we had to continually paddle in, quite Ironic being that we spent all that time paddling out. I turned around only to notice that I was in the rite place at the rite time; this was my wave. This thing was forming rite behind me. As soon as I dropped in, I knew that this was going to be a great ride. After a few quick turns and gaining some speed, I was in an amazing tube.

After a few more great rides, some wipe outs, and getting blasted in the face with freezing mist, we called it. It's not that we were ready to go, It's just that I still had an exam to take in a hour. Getting out is always the hard part anyway. Dealing with the cold is a drag, especially when doing so outside. Even taking my gloves off to grab my keys from above my tire was an adventure in and of itself. I went the extra mile and took off the top of my suit.... Cold!

Unlike Mike, who walked into the school gym to take a shower, wearing only his suit, I changed and than quickly made it to class. With my red windburned face, sandy eyebrows, and that kind of grin you cant wipe off because you just spent a few hours riding tubes in the north east during the winter, taking that test in a room full of what appeared to be dead people was a surreal experience for sure.

On the ride home I realized why I surf, because its empowering, captivating, and now, essential to my life. The ocean is where I go to celebrate, debrief, and understand. No matter what happens, what I get, lose, or give away, I will always surf. To this day, I still remember the first wave I ever rode.

Jasonn wrote: "On the ride home I realized why I surf, because its empowering, captivating, and now, essential to my life. The ocean is where I go to celebrate, debrief, and understand. No matter what happens, what I get, lose, or give away, I will always surf. To this day, I still remember the first wave I ever rode. Keep reaching, never stop loving, and always remember to go surfing!- Jason"